AMBROSIA’S EDITORIAL: GHOST FESTIVAL

General information

Ghost Festival, or known in Vietnam as Yulan Festival, is actually part of an entire

month of events dubbed Ghost Month which occurs on the seventh month of the lunar
calendar. In this month, the ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors,
are free from the lower realm and roam the street of the living world to find food and
entertainment until the end of the month. Thus, this month is believed to be haunted
and particularly unlucky, requiring utmost carefulness in actions and words.

The festival itself occurs on the 15th day and is viewed as a time for the pardoning of
condemned souls and appeasing the homeless spirits with food.

Origin

In Buddhism, there exists an anecdote about Mu Lien, one of Buddha Shakyamuni’s

disciples who saved his mother from hell. Mu Lien once left his mother an amount of
money and instructed her to kindly host any Buddhist monks that ever came her way.
However, burnt with greed, she withheld her kindness and her money, which caused
her spirit to suffer greatly in Hell. When Mu Lien found out, he travelled to the under
world in an attempt to free her from misery. He tried to relieve her of her hunger by
feeding her water and rice but when it reached her mouth, it turned into flame. Buddha
told Mu Lien that his mother’s sin was too great to relinquish, and the only way to
relieve her was to offer fruits and vegetables to monks on the 15th day of the seventh
lunar month. Through Mu Lien’s merits, his mother finally reincarnated into a
human.

Today monks hold ritual chanting prayers and offer fruits and drinks to relieve
suffering ghosts. The underlying essence of the holiday is filial piety: showing
respects to parents, as well as showing respects to ancestors.

Ghost Month’s taboos

1. Don’t take pictures at night or you might end up with a ghost in your pictures.

2. Don’t go to the beach or go swimming: It is believed that there await in the deep
water lake spectres who are especially active during Ghost Month and can use
humans’ bodies to re-enter the living world. Thus, people shun going to the beach,
pool, river, or frankly any bodies of water during this time.
3. Don’t whistle at night or you might attract a ghost’s attention and make them follow
you home.

4. Don’t hang your clothes outside after dark or some ghosts may try to steal them (!)

5. Don’t respond to any name calling or shoulder tapping at night. Who know if it is a
human or a ghost?

6. Don’t pick up money on the road because it could belong to some ghost. What
could be worse than stealing? That’s right, it’s stealing from a ghost.

7. Last but not least, don’t take a bus at midnight. If you take this late bus, nobody is
sure if any ghost will follow you home.

Ghost Festival celebration in different parts of Asia

Vietnam: In modern Vietnam, this day is deemed the equivalent of Western Mother’s
Day: people pay homage to their mother by bearing a rose on their chess and giving
thanks. Those with living mothers would bear a red rose while those without could
choose to bear a white one.

Indonesia: People gather around temples and bring an offering to a spirit who died in
an unlucky way, and after that, they distribute it to the poor.

Singapore: people would pray to ghosts/spirits or ancestors with offerings and fruits
outside their homes.

Taiwan: Incense and food are offered to the spirits to deter them from visiting homes
and spirit paper money is also burnt as an offering. During the month, people avoid
surgery, buying cars, moving house and marrying. It is also important that addresses
are not revealed to the ghost.

Japan: The festival has been transformed over time into a family reunion holiday
during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean
the resting places of their ancestors.

VOCABULARY RECAP
 dub (v): give somebody/something a particular name

 deceased (adj): dead

 lower realm (n): another way of referring to Hell

 condemn (v): express strong disapproval of somebody/something, usually for
moral reason

 relinquish (v): stop having something, especially when this happens

unwillingly

 reincarnate (v): to be born again after you have died

 essence (n): the most important quality or feature that makes something what it
is

 filial (adj): connected with the way children behave towards their parents

 piety (n) -> pious (adj): showing deep respect for God and religion

 shun (v): avoid